Excited, Nervous, Ready for the Sleeve! - Rockville, MD

Hi,

I decided this January to explore my weight loss options. I researched some doctors in my area & found Dr. Berry Greene, whom I really like & I like his staff as well. I'm 47 years old, 5'9" (they say 5'8" I think it helps the bmi stay a little higher) my heaviest weight was 243 at this point I am 225- 230 ish, depending on the day! My BMI is 35, so I am right on the edge of insurance covering this procedure.

I can only remember maybe 2 times in my life I felt good in my body. There was once when I was a workout junkie and spent 4 hours a day in the gym, that was hard work! And I was in my 20s! in my 30's I went through a horrible break up & stress took me down to 165! I looked hot but I was terrible unhealthy! Anyway, being close to 50 now I decided to take this route. My only co-morbidity is high bp, maybe anxiety too. I am not diabetic and I don't have sleep apnea!

I have always been a pretty healthy eater as well. I stopped eating fast food in my early 20's back when I worked out like a maniac ^. I am not a big bread, pasta, carby eater. However, I have learned to look for carbs, they are in things you would never think of ex: a delicious additive for water made by Visalus! 7 carbs per pack and I was doing 3 a day!!!

I am looking forward to getting back in the gym after this surgery and kicking my butt back into shape! I am hoping with proper weight training I can avoid having hangy skin that requires more surgery!

At first they recommended the lap band. But after many months of seeing the doctors assistant , we came to the conclusion that the Sleeve is going to be best for me. Even though I eat healthy I obviously eat too much of it! I also realized that I am a stress/boredom eater!! Evidently there is a hormone in the part of your stomach that is removed with this surgery. That hormone causes cravings and such. Take it away!!!

Now, this is my dilemma, I have not told my family (mom, dad, sister). My doc required a therapy session & when she asked me about that and I told her I had not told them she flipped out! Hey, I said, I am 47 years old and I don't need approval from anyone other than myself! My husband is totally supportive and a select handful of friends I love and trust are very supportive! My mother and sister are obese as well, my sister more than myself! And I just know they would not be supportive and possible be mean about it. Ex: " Oh isn't she lucky to be able to take the easy road out." I mean damn, insurance is covering this and I have had to pay for the co-pays at each visit, had to pay $250 to have the gall bladder removed (it had dysplasia sp? so that was a good thing) & they require $2500 at the final pre-op visit. But I have had 6+ months to save up for that! So my sister could easily have it too. I am sure when she sees how much I have lost she will ask and I won't lie but I will wait for that time~

Speaking of my amazingly supportive husband, he just said last night he wants to go on the all liquid for a week diet with me :) How awesome is that?!

One thing that scares me is the thought of hair loss!!! I have been a hairstylist for 30+ years and I take care of my hair religiously! I have been doubling up on vitamins and taking biotin and a hair skin and nail vitamin for 6 months. I am hoping it will be minimal if I do loss any. It's normal to loss some after anesthesia anyway, so fingers are crossed.

This blog is asking me to post a photo. I also do photography so I am always the one behind the camera, which keeps me out of many shots. I am also a master at cropping myself!! lol! So I just ran into my bathroom and took a few shots, minus the face ;)

I hope my story helps any of y'all that are thinking about this surgery but aren't to sure. OH and one more point. I have 2 friends that did weight loss surgery. 1 had a Bypass & 1 a Lap Band. Both have said they WISHED the Sleeve had been an option when they had theirs!

So, here I am, I hope to "find" some new friends and support here in this community~

I hate pictures of myself!! They literally make me want to throw up!

That was the worst test of all test I had to do for this surgery. I knew I did not have sleep apnea but it was a required test. So I scheduled it and went. I took 2 Xanax because they said I could & I was kind of freaking out about it! I have always had sleep issues and the room has to be dark, I need a fan running, it has to be cold, no electronics (haha, that wasn't happening). I took a small fan with me. They told me I would have to walk down the hall to the bathroom and I would have to let them know so they could unhook me from the machines. Oh and I HATE pajamas!!
So anyway, I was really tired thanks to the Xanax. They came in to start attaching wires, tubes etc. In my hair!! & all the way down my leg. That took about 30 mins. Then I had to pee again, lol, but I forgot about that and tired to get comfortable and sleep. They left the room & bam! I was wide awake, the light from the hallway was shining right in my face. Finally found a somewhat comfortable position and started to doze off, the door opens and the tech comes in turns on the light and has to re- attach a wire that cam loose. UGH, wide awake again. They logged about 1 hour of sleep, which they said was not enough to complete the study and I was going to have to do it again. I was not happy to hear that at all.
They informed me they were moving the study to a hotel and it would be more comfortable. That sounded nice, but they kept cancelling the appointment on me! I got kind of mean with them & refused to do it again. They sent a report to my doctor stating I had severe insomnia, lol.
So, if you are like me about sleep ask for medication to help you relax and try to find a doctor that does these studies in a hotel room not an office :)